Written and drawn by Katsuhiro Otomo, adapted by Jo Duffy, colored by Steve Oliff, lettered by Mike Higgins. Akira, 1988.

I say I like to re-read Akira a few times a year, but the truth is I do that in addition to reading random passages out of it whenever they come to mind. I get something out of it every time I go back to it, and this latest round, spurred by a couple friends reading the book for the first time, is no different.

This scene and its followup are among my favorite bits in the book and a good illustration of both how callous and awful Kaneda is and how good Otomo is at making comics. This time around, I’m looking at the table the school nurse is holding onto for dear life. I like how the table is the only thing keeping her from floating into the air on the first page. She’s into Kaneda and feeling good, until the second page rolls around and the table is the only thing keeping her from collapsing to the ground.

6 comments to ““I think I might be pregnant.””

The way the nurse is drawn in this scene is so damn good, and her body language says so damn much. From not being able to look at him while she’s getting her courage up to say he might have gotten her pregnant, to the look of betrayal at the absolutely shitty way he responds, to her needing to look at literally anything but him after as she tries not to collapse under the weight of the hopes and fears crashing down on her… Good god. Otomo absolutely knocked it out of the park.

i don’t understand why you and other comic related people loved to post the coloured version of Akira. It looks like DOG SHIT. It looks fucking terrible, completely and utterly amateur. Akira wasn’t meant to be in colour but if it was done well then great but it wasn’t.

This scene is a heart-breaker/character-builder all in one. The second last panel when she looks down at her tummy is emotional bullet for me, and Kaneda. He clearly sees that he’s fucked up in some way, though not necessarily that he cares that he did.
I did a reread a few weeks ago and it’s as hot as ever.

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